


In the Cathouse Again

by armlessphelan



Category: General Hospital
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2018-01-13 02:11:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1208941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armlessphelan/pseuds/armlessphelan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the two most despised people in Port Charles find everything unraveling around them, Brad tries to understand just why he ended up where he did while Britt does everything she can to keep from going back to where she came from. Canon compliant until Valentine's Day 2014.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

For what was probably only the third or fourth time, even though it felt like the hundredth, Brad Cooper woke up next to a white man. He was a gorgeous, intelligent, interesting white man, but he was also seven different kinds of clingy. For a brief moment, Brad wondered if this was how he had come off when he first started pursuing Felix.

"Shit," he groaned when he lifted his phone from from the nightstand. Britt Westbourne, his boss and occasional compatriot, had called three times and sent him at least ten times as many texts. He looked at the time on phone, decided it wasn't too early, and called her while feeling incredibly grateful that Lucas Jones wasn't the type to snore.

"Brad?" Britt sounded as tired as he felt. "What the hell were you doing? Dante knows about Ben, he knows that he's the father."

Biting back a groan, Brad looked down at Lucas. He had one arm slung around Brad's waist and the other tucked under the pillows. He didn't know anything about Britt and the baby stuff Brad had gotten wrapped up in. Brad wondered if Lucas would care.

"Felix told me last night," Brad sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "Do they know you aren't his mother? Felix didn't seem to know that."

"Did you tell him?" Britt didn't answer, but her question answered his.

"Of course not. Your mom scares the hell out of me."

There was a laugh on the other end of the phone. "Mother scares me, too. Brad, can you meet me for breakfast? We have to talk."

"Are we going to Kelly's? I'm getting sick of that place, to be honest." There were only so many BLTs a man could eat before he went nuts. And if the news was to be believed, it drove women nuts, too.

"Where else is there to go in this piece of shit town?"

"There's an Italian place I've wanted to try. I hear they have a decent breakfast menu, too."

"Fine. Whatever, text me the directions. I have half an hour left on my shift and I need to not be seen talking on the phone. Mother seems to check the supply closets hourly to make sure nobody is slacking."

After hanging up, Brad slid out of Lucas' embrace and grabbed his pants from the night before. He didn't know where his boxers had gone. After sliding them on, he slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. He turned on the light and stared in the mirror.

He didn't get it. Objectively, Brad knew was decent looking. Sure, he displayed bravado now to overcompensate for being the fat kid in school, but he was just decent. What did someone like Lucas, someone who was legitimately hot, see in him? He was just a short Asian guy just this side of being middle-aged. Was was so special about him drew Lucas in, and why couldn't Felix see it?

Brad turn on the faucet and slapped himself in the face with cold water. It sent any remaining vestiges of sleep running for the theoretical hills. As he listened to the sound of running water, he dragged a comb through his hair, then began brushing his teeth. The last thing he needed was for the man in his bed to see what he looked like unkempt. Though, technically, he had already seen it twice before.

"Oh, you're awake," Brad observed when he saw Lucas lounged seductively indecent in the bed. It took all the willpower he had not to take up the unspoken invitation.

"It got cold without you." Lucas was flirting, and he was good at it. He sat up and, when Brad got close enough, reached out and pulled the man to the edge of the bed. He kissed Brad's stomach and ran a finger the length of his waistband. "You know, sooner or later you're gonna have to do more than use me as a late night booty call when that other guy blows you off."

"Sorry about that. You inspire bad decision making. And I don't mean to use you. It just happens."

"I don't mind being used," Lucas argued as he leaned just enough to kiss the small of Brad's back. "But really, what is it about this guy that you let him treat you like crap all the time?"

Brad closed his eyes and focused for anything but the fingers exploring his body. "Honestly, I wasn't always the nicest guy. Shit, more often than not I'm still a son of a bitch. But he gave me a chance and I don't want to mess it up."

"Sounds to me like he's the one who messed up." Lucas' breath was even hotter on Brad's skin than his hands. He released Brad and leaned back into the bed. "If I'm the inspiration for bad choices, you can't be all that bad. Lord knows I've made more than a few of my own."

"Did you ever try to blackmail a straight man into sleeping with you?" Brad wasn't sure why he was telling Lucas about what was likely the worst thing he'd ever done, and it was a long list.

"I can't say I've ever needed blackmail. Tequila usually does the trick." Lucas smiled, which made Brad smile.

"Oh fuck you," he laughed.

"You did that last night. Or is your memory that bad?" Lucas grinned evilly and Brad really had to fight the urge to jump on top of him. The blond man pulled back the comforter he was laying on and patted the bed. "I can refresh your memory."

Brad actually did lean down and kiss Lucas. It was nice, to be able to kiss someone and not have to worry about if he would be judged or chastised immediately after. Then he pulled away.

"I would love to. Really, I would, but I can't stay. I have a thing with my boss and she gets pissy if I'm late."

"You told me last night that you had today off." Lucas was pouting and Brad kissed him again.

"It's not a work thing. It's a personal thing."

"Sooner or later, we're gonna have a proper date and you won't be able to run out on me."

"Maybe." Brad wasn't making any promises. As much as he liked sleeping with and talking to Lucas, there wasn't much more to whatever their relationship was. And he still had Felix. Maybe.

GH

"The service here is terrible. Why did I choose this stupid town, of all possible places, to do my residency?" Britt didn't even bother to greet Brad when she saw him. "Sorry, I ran into that bitch Elizabeth as I was leaving work, and she felt it necessary to gloat about Ben. I shut her ass up quick, though."

"That is one big rock," Brad noted when Britt held up her hand. "Nik proposed?"

She smiled and nodded, playing with the ring before looking back to him. "Yeah, he did. He didn't care that Dante is Ben's father."

"And you don't care that he has hair plugs." Brad snorted as he took his seat and looked around the restaurant. There was literally nobody else around. "Was I wrong? I thought this place was open. I mean, the sign says it's open."

"Don't look at me. I've been sitting here for ten minutes and haven't seen a soul." Britt grimaced and stared at the bar before yelling. "Get your useless asses out here and serve your goddamn customers!"

Ignoring her outburst, Brad brushed leftover crumbs from a previous customer off the table and to the floor. "So, Dante and Lulu know that Ben is their son and not yours?"

"Ben is my son. Just because I used Dante and Lulu's embryo..."

"Stole," Brad interjected. "You stole their embryo. And I helped you."

"Yeah, right, whatever. Anyway, they think I used Dante's sperm with one of my eggs. And it's gonna stay that way. I mean, Felix doesn't know the full story, does he?"

"Like I would admit to embryo theft. Stealing a straight dude's sperm is bad enough. I mean, good god, that sounds like something from a terrible porno."

Britt laughed at Brad's face. "You gays and your porn. Next you'll tell me that you and your girlfriend are making your own. Which I don't want you to tell me. Ever. But we should probably get our stories straight. I told everyone that I didn't know the sperm was Dante's, that Mother is the one who set everything up. And you need to go along with it."

"Oh." Brad scratched the back of his head and nervously chuckled. "You should've told me that sooner. Because I told Felix we did know it was Dante's. I mean, he already knew that Dante was the father, so it was obvious we stole it. Which kinda makes you the obvious liar. Sorry."

"Thanks a lot, Brad!" Britt yelled before slouching in her chair and crossing her arms. "Now what the hell am I going to do? Is there any chance you can shut that bitch up for me?"

"Felix threw me out of his apartment on Valentine's Day, so I seriously doubt anything I say is gonna keep him from running to Liz."

"Why do you even like him? He's such a shrill, whiny harpy and nosey as all get out. Not unlike Liz, now that I think about it. Why do the people in town never mind their own fucking business?"

Brad shrugged. "I'm still trying to figure out why none of them seem to have any friends. I mean, the closest I have to a friend is you, and you're a bitch."

"Aw, thanks, Brad. You're a bitch, too. But because you're a dumb one, I have to figure out how to spin this so that Nikolas still marries me. I could always go to Mother for help, but that involves talking to Mother."

"That woman scares me."

Throwing her hair back, Britt looked at the time on her cell phone. "Imagine how I felt growing up with her. But that is going to be nothing compared to what I'm gonna do if the rude as fuck wait staff at this dump doesn't come out soon!" She screamed the last words for emphasis.

"I'm coming!" A man yelled in return as he burst out of the back. Then he froze when he saw Brad. "Get the hell out of my restaurant."

"Oh, hi, Mikey," Brad leered before he could stop himself. "Listen, we just want some food."

"I'm not going to serve anyone who tries to blackmail me into sex!" Michael Corinthos screamed at Brad as he thrust a finger in his direction.

Then Britt started laughing raucously. "A skinny white boy? Seriously, Brad? If you're gonna go that route, you could at least blackmail someone a little more attractive. And you, Mikey or whatever, stop screaming. It's unprofessional. Now take your constipated ass over to the hostess table and get some damn menus so I can eat your shitty food before going home. I've had a rough few days and I'm not in the mood for any shit."

"I was being polite before," Michael shouted at Britt, before turning back to Brad. "Get the hell out of my restaurant before I call the cops."

"But your father is a mobster. Do you really want the cops involved?" Brad countered with a raised hand. "I mean, I didn't even know you worked here."

"My dad owns this place. It's a legitimate business. Now leave."

Standing, Britt slung her purse over her shoulder. Brad followed her lead, sans purse.

"You know," Britt sneered at Michael, "if this is a legitimate business, then I'm the fucking Virgin Mary. Come on, Brad. I'm not in the mood for trade today."

"What's trade?" Brad asked as he looked Michael over.

"You are a terrible gay," Britt informed Brad before she stormed out of the restaurant.

"I am so leaving you a negative review on Yelp," Brad warned Michael before following Britt out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

"You can't move in with me. I mean, you're a doctor. Surely you can afford your own place." Brad stared at Britt as she dragged her bags into his apartment. "I mean, this is a studio. You aren't on the lease and there's only one bed!"

"And when you steal an embryo from the son of a mob boss, it reduces your chances of finding a place to stay. Nik threw me out, and I can't even get a room at the Metrocourt because the owners are Dante's mother and Lulu's cousin! Or something. Not to mention my son is in foster care until the courts determine who gets custody. Foster care. Ugh. Some strangers are collecting a check and my son is probably in a planter or something."

"Well, if you're going to force your way into my home, at least you aren't bringing a kid with you. I hate kids." Brad didn't offer to help Britt.

Britt threw her stuff onto Brad's floor then looked at his bed. "Is this thing clean, or is it covered in crusty reminders of one night stands long gone?"

"It's clean." Brad slammed his door and Britt threw herself onto his bed. He really didn't know why Britt came to him for help. It wasn't like she'd actually done anything to help him. Sure, she got him a promotion, but he'd done a hell of a lot more for her than she had for him. "You still haven't told me why I should let you stay here."

Sitting up, Britt ran one hand through her hair and picked crud from the corners of her eyes with the other. She tilted her head as if in thought. Then she fell back onto the bed and looked at the ceiling. Brad heard her sigh before she spoke.

"Listen, Brad, neither one of us has any actual friends here. It's not your fault I'm a callous and vindictive bitch, and it's not my fault that you're a skeevy and lecherous douche. But right now we're all we have." She rolled onto her side and looked at him. "Felix is probably back to living full time in Sabrina's chola snatch, and Nik was the only person who actually liked me. Face it, we started from the bottom and we stayed there."

"Please, do not ever reference a Drake song when talking about my life. I am neither a light skinned black man nor a white woman." Brad leaned back against the door and ignored the buzzing in his pocket. If it was important, whoever it was calling would leave a voice mail. "Fine, you can stay. But you're sleeping on the sofa. And whenever I have guys over you need to make yourself scarce. And it's only until you can find someplace else to live. I'm sure your mutter would let you stay with her or something.”

Insulted, Britt chucked a pillow at Brad. “I would sooner be homeless before I'd voluntarily live with my mother again!”

“Keep throwing stuff at me, and that can be arranged.”

GH

“Why do you keep calling me?” Brad was annoyed. “I thought we agreed that there would be no more calls, no more texts, no more following me around town like a white girl looking for a GBF.”

“We also agreed on no more one night stands, but then you called me.” Lucas almost had a point, but Brad didn't want to give him any credit. “And your other guy, Felix? He asked me out. You wanna talk about awkward? That's what I was calling to tell you.”

“Felix asked you out?” Brad looked at the door to his bathroom, where Britt was singing a very off key version of Dog and Butterfly while taking a shower. He remembered Felix seeing a picture of Lucas on his phone, but for him to actually ask Lucas out was weird. Almost as weird as Lucas.

There was chuckling on the other end of the line. “Yeah. Why wouldn't he? I''m a catch. Handsome, well off, interesting personality...”

“Humble,” Brad interjected with a laugh. “So, are you gonna go out with him?”

“Only if you won't go with me.” Lucas was smooth. Brad couldn't deny that. And there weren't that many other men beating down his down, even if Lucas was using a chainsaw to do it.

“Fine, you win. One date. One actual date, on the town and everything. I'll let you make the plans.” Even though he was apprehensive about it, Brad was also relieved. He wished he could have worked things out with Felix, but it was obviously time to let go of that dream. Maybe Lucas would be good for him.

“Great! My cousin Michael is the manager of this really nice Italian restaurant and...”

“...and I hate Italian. Sorry.” Brad rubbed the back of his neck as he lied, glaring at his bathroom door as though he could somehow blame his new roommate for what happened earlier that week. Michael was Lucas' cousin, which meant that sooner or later he'd have to deal with it. He happily opted for later. “Just text me the when and the where.”

“Okay?” Lucas sounded unsure. “Is there something wrong? You just totally changed.”

“Roommate problems.” Brad sighed and rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I'll explain it later. Bye.”

He didn't even wait for Lucas to reply before hanging up. Britt came out of the bathroom shortly after, drying her hair with a towel.

“Is that my robe?” he whined when he saw the familiar terrycloth article she was wearing.

“Oh, shut up. I have my bra and panties on underneath it so I don't get my nasty girl cooties all over it,” she snarked in reply. Britt pulled a brush out of the pocket of the robe and sat on the edge of his bed. “Who was that on the phone?”

“Do you care?”

Britt grinned. “It was that Lucas guy, wasn't it? Sooner or later I'm gonna meet him.”

“I'll tell him you call you 'The Britch'.” Brad laughed from his computer chair. “But yeah, it was Lucas. Since things are pretty much done with Felix thanks you, too, I'm going on a date.”

“Good. At least one of us has something resembling a personal life. And Felix wasn't my fault. You impregnated me willingly, you little cunt.” Britt ran the brush through her wet hair and sighed. “I hate that you don't have a hair dryer. You are such a useless gay.”

“That's offensive,” Brad pointed out as he waved his finger in her face.

Rolling her eyes, Britt laughed again. “I'm offensive? Last night, you told me that my queefs sound like a Katy Perry song. And you tried to blackmail a sexually confused twink into sleeping with you. I'm a fucking angel in comparison.”

GH

As much as he wanted to pretend otherwise, Brad was not impressed with the choice in dining locales that Lucas had made. "It's a bar. A straight bar."

"It's the same bar where you and I first met. I thought it would be an appropriate choice for a first date." Lucas took off his coat, then offered to take Brad's. Shrugging, he handed it over. "Honestly, it was either or Kelly's. The only other place in town is a Chinese restaurant and, well..."

"I'll have to show you around the Asian Quarter sometime. Those hipsters may be annoying, but since they gentrified the place, the food is a lot better," Brad suggested as they took their seats.

Shortly after, a waitress with teased hair and a short skirt took their orders. As she walked away, Brad looked past her to the bartender.

"Okay, the hot daddy is working tonight. I'll forgive you." Brad looked back to Lucas, who was grinning. "What?"

"We are not having a threesome with Mac Scorpio. I was friends with his sorta daughter in high school. It'd be weird." Lucas laughed heartily at Brad's face.

"Do I even wanna know what a 'sorta daughter' is?"

Lucas shook his head. "It's a long story, but not very interesting. Unlike you."

"Are you calling me long or interesting?" Brad was smiling despite himself. Lucas was as charming as he was hot. Why had he waited so long to finally take Lucas up on his many, many offers?

"A little of column B, a whole lot of column A." When his date grinned lewdly, Brad snorted. It was obvious that their first date was gonna end up in the same place they always did. "So, you work at GH as a lab tech? What's that like?"

"It used to be great. Now it's kinda hell. We have a new Chief of Staff who thinks Malaysian sweatshops are ideal working conditions. And my roommate kinda... Well, never mind.” Brad scratched the back of his neck and silently cursed himself. Lucas was Carly's brother, which meant he was Lulu's cousin. That meant that Ben was an issue. All he had wanted was a quiet evening.

“Britt Westbourne, right? She's your roommate. Trust me when I tell you that she won't be an issue.” Lucas thanked the waitress for the breadsticks she brought them, then looked back to Brad. “Britt isn't an issue; Felix isn't an issue; tonight is all about you and me.”

All Brad could do was stare at Lucas. There was no way he knew Brad and Britt were, well, something like friends and didn't care. It was impossible. Britt was literally the most despised person in town, and there were mobsters and old men who killed their grandchildren running around. The competition was fierce. When it became wider known that he'd taken her in...

“Wait, how did you know Britt was my roommate? I never told you that. I haven't told anyone that.” Again, Brad was back to finding Lucas a bit odd. Even if he was the perfect man on paper, there was something about him that Brad just couldn't pin down.

“I saw her on the camera I installed in your room,” Lucas snorted. When he saw that Brad didn't find it funny, he straightened his shoulders and offered a much less creepy explanation. “You never talked about a roommate until this week, and Lulu told me that her brother Nikolas threw her out. It's not a difficult line of logic.”

“Yes, well, okay then. That's makes sense.” Not sure of what else to do, Brad grabbed a breadstick and tore it in half. “They say you shouldn't eat these things. It's all empty calories and whatnot. I dunno.”

“We can always work them off later,” Lucas winked. For a moment, Brad almost bought into it. He almost bought that Lucas was flirting with him like it was just a normal date. Then Lucas said something to ruin it all. “Oh! Hey, Michael. Brad, this is my nephew. Michael, this is Brad Cooper.”

“Oh shit.” Brad sank down into his chair and tried to hide his face with half a breadstick.

“Lucas?” Michael approached the table, his voice full of disgust.

“Uncle Lucas, young man. You show your elders some respect.” Lucas didn't seem to pick up that Brad was attempting and failing to hide. “And say hi to Brad. You're being rude.”

“I'm being rude?” Michael yelled at the top of his voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the bar. “Your date tried to blackmail me into having sex with him!”

Then Michael fell silent when he realized that everyone had heard him. Brad looked and saw that even Mac Scorpio had stopped wiping out the beer mugs. Brad looked anywhere he could that wasn't Lucas or Michael.

“And you turned him down?” Lucas didn't sound amused. Brad slowly turned his head to look at Lucas, but saw that his date was staring at his nephew. “Well, all the better for me, then.”

“Excuse me?” Michael was somewhere between whispering and yelling. He angrily looked at Brad, then turned his eyes back to Lucas. “Did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah. Brad tried. And failed. What's your point?” Lucas sounded irritated, but not not with Brad.

Lowering his breadstick, Brad tilted his head and let his mouth hang open. Was Lucas defending him? Even though all they knew about each other were bedroom positions?

“My point? My point is that the freak you're dating wanted to sleep with me, even after I told him I was straight.”

Lucas laughed at Michael's outrage. “If I walked away from every guy that told me he was straight... Three beer queers exist, Michael. Now, I really must insist that you calm down or you'll have to leave.”

“WHAT?!”

“That's it. Goodbye. I'll see you when you can learn to behave in public.” Lucas flicked his wrist in the air, indicating that Michael should leave.

“This isn't over!” Michael yelled in Brad's face. Before Brad could reply, Lucas was out of his seat and had his nephew by his shirt. Lucas threw Michael onto their table. The breadsticks went flying and so did Lucas' fist. He'd already punched Michael three times before Brad pulled them apart.

“We're leaving,” Brad told the bartender before throwing a fifty dollar bill on the table next to Michael. Then he turned his attention back to Lucas. “Go, now. I'll be just a second.”

Lucas looked at Michael, eyes narrowed, and shook his hand. He pecked Brad on the cheek, and stormed out of the bar.

“Sorry about that.” Brad offered a hand to Michael, but was pushed away.

“Don't talk to me. Don't look at me. And stay the hell away from my family.” Michael thrust a finger in Brad's face and started to leave, but Mac Scorpio stopped him.

“I don't think it's a good idea to leave right now. Not while Lucas is outside waiting.”

Taking the hint, Brad did his best to avoid Michael as he stepped out of the bar. Lucas was standing by a garbage can with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“What the hell was that?” Brad asked as he approached Lucas cautiously.

“I was defending your honour.” Lucas reached out and caressed Brad's cheek. “Nobody talks about my man like that.”

“What?”

Lucas grabbed Brad and pulled him closed, their bodies pressed against each other as Lucas kissed him. “God, but I love you.”

“You what? What? Huh?”

Brad was confused by everything that had happened and everything that was happening. Kissing him again, Lucas pressed his hand to the small of Brad's back and dipped him.

“You really aren't bothered by what your cousin said?” Brad asked when they finally separated. He cast an eye to the bar and saw Michael standing at the window and fuming.

“Nephew,” Lucas corrected. The hand on Brad's back slid under his shirt then down the back of his pants. “And I barely know him. I don't give a fuck about him.”

“You know him better than you know me,” Brad argued as he reached back and removed Lucas' hand from his backside. “Also, no overly PDA in public right after your nephew just outed me as a blackmailer.”

“Attempted blackmailer,” Lucas grinned as he pressed his head to Brad's and began swaying his body. “You never actually slept with Mikey. Me, on the other hand, you have slept with. Multiple times. And I want you to do it again. More than once.”

“I have a roommate now,” Brad tried pointing out. It was just supposed to be a date: a first date.

“I have a room at my mother's. She's spending the week with Carly, so we have the place to ourselves. And oh my god I just sounded like a 17-year-old asking his boyfriend to sneak over.”

“As long as we don't listen to Sheryl Crow and watch Beverly Hills 90210 after.”

“Just how old are you?” Lucas inquired as he kissed Brad's jawline.

“Oh, shut the fuck up.”


	3. Chapter 3

Before Lucas had awoken, Brad had dressed and left. It was still dark outside. The homeless people had come out of hiding long enough to sleep by the warm entrances of local businesses. Before long, the owners or managers would show up to open and shoo them away. He stepped around an overturned trash can in front of a coffee shop. When he noticed it was actually open, Brad checked his wallet then stepped inside.

“I'll have a black coffee and a couple of your glazed donuts,” Brad told the half-asleep cashier when he approached the counter. She had to ask him to repeat his order, which he did with clenched teeth. It was too early in the morning for him to be dealing with people who didn't know how to do their jobs.

After he received his order, he sat at a small table by the window and watched Port Charles start to wake up. It was five minutes and one refill of coffee before another customer entered the shop. Brad new him, but just barely. He watched the man throw out a complicated drink order, bark at the barista for taking too long, then take his latte and not leave a tip. Brad would have judged him, but he didn't leave a tip, either.

Just as he was walking out the door, the man took notice of Brad and stopped. “Do I know you?”

“Highly unlikely. I know who you are, though. Julian Jerome, publishing magnate,” Brad nervously raised his styrofoam cup in an awkward toast to the mobster. He already had enough people in positions of power who hated him. There was no need to add another.

“Do you work at General Hospital?” Julian watched as Brad nodded. “You were there the other day? In blue scrubs?”

“Most people who work there wear scrubs.” Brad took a drink of his coffee, running his words over in his head. “Is there something I can help you with? I'm not on the clock, so...”

Julian let the door shut and sat down at Brad's table. Even though he looked uncomfortable, the mobster had nothing on Brad.

“You were there with Lucas Jones. You were hugging him.” Julian sat his coffee on the table and stared into brad's eyes.

“Yeah, see, about that... His sister was missing. Or she'd already been found and was in the hospital. I'm not sure of the timeline, but he was worried and needed a hug. And I acquiesced.” It was an odd line of questioning, and Brad found himself evolving beyond discomfort and straight into fear.

“Are you one of the... are you a gay?” Julian coughed and looked away from Brad.

Looking at the table, Brad took a drink of his coffee then nodded. “Y-yeah. I'm gay. Why?”

“My son is a homosexual, too. And I'm trying to be understanding and stuff, but I don't know any actual gay people. My sister comes from the art world and knows a whole bunch people like you. I've met some before. You know, some gays and even a couple lesbians, but they weren't my children. And I barely even know my son as it is. There are so many questions I have, and I tried to look stuff up online and it was... unpleasant.”

“I don't know what good I'll be.” Brad almost preferred the idea of getting shot in the head to the head of a crime family asking about his sex life. It had gone from scary back to weird so fast he had whiplash. “I mean, not every guy is the same just because he's gay. And I'm going to assume your son is white, so that's gonna be different, too.”

“What does being white have to do with being gay?” Julian Jerome raised his eyebrows in confusion, and for a moment he was disarmed enough for Brad to notice how hot he was.

Clearing his throat, Brad took another drink of coffee. If he'd known this conversation was going to happen, he would've made it Irish. “Well, white gays tend to be the ones who get on TV and told they're normal and whatnot. Whereas the rest of us are ignored at best.”

“I don't know what that means.”

“Never mind.” Brad shook his head and tried to keep a level voice. “Shouldn't you be asking your son any questions you have? It's his life. I'm just a complete stranger.”

“Except you're not. Lucas Jones is my son.” Julian scratched the back of his neck and looked at Brad, waiting for him to say something.

Brad suddenly remembered Lucas talking about having a mobster for a father. He couldn't remember if Lucas had mentioned just who his father was, but that was suddenly unimportant. What was important was that a white piece of ass had somehow become the centre of his universe. Felix may have been annoying, but at least he wasn't this... involved.

“Oh.” Brad looked back to the table.

“Are you... You're just friends, right?” Julian didn't sound antagonistic. If anything, he was concerned.

“With benefits,” Brad chuckled before he could stop himself. Then his eyes widened and he looked up at Julian's unreadable face. “What I meant is that we were friends, but we sorta had our first date. Last night.”

“Right. Yes. Well, be good to him. Or else.” With that vaguely worded threat, Julian excused himself and left the coffee shop. Brad ordered another cup of coffee to go, then left.

GH

"I finally met Lucas. He's cute. How your ugly ass I got him I'll never know." Britt didn't looked up from her chart, but she made a note on it. "I invited him over tomorrow night for dinner. By the way, you're cooking."

"You what? I can't cook. I flunked out of Home Economics in high school."

Britt looked up at Brad, disgust written across her face. "How the hell do you fail Home Ec? It's the class you take for filler credits because it's an easy A."

"I kinda threw my fake baby into the oven during class. It wouldn't stop crying and I was mad. Also, when the hell did you meet Lucas?"

"He stopped by the apartment this morning looking for you. You never came home, so I'm assuming you showered here at work and wore your spare scrubs. They're wrinkly as fuck." She reached over and tugged on the neckline of his shirt. "You're lucky they let you lab techs wear coats, or Mother would have your head hanging from a pike at the Nurses' Station as a warning to everyone else to be immaculate."

"He was at the apartment?" Brad hung his head and sighed. The last few days had been nuts. He would need to reiterate to Lucas just what boundaries were and why they should be respected.

Shrugging, Britt reached into the pocket of her own white coat. "Yeah. You left your phone at his place and he wanted to give it back. It was all very sweet and blah blah blah. Why are you getting sexed up by a hot dude when I'm sitting in your place on Friday nights watching old episodes of Scandal on Netflix?"

"At least your plans don't involve teaching a mobster all about being gay."

"I thought all it took to be gay was liking a dick up your ass. Have I been wrong all this time?" Britt gasped in fake horror. She reached for the sandwich on Brad's desk and took a bite out of it. "Thanks again for letting me eat in here. That bitch Elizabeth seems to have turned the while hospital against me. The cafeteria ladies don't even bother to hide it when they spit in my food. They at least used to have the decency to do it when they thought I wasn't looking.”

"Everyone hated you before the Ben stuff came out, though. It's nothing new. How is that going? With your kid, I mean."

"Horribly. My lawyer is supposedly a shark. She goes by the name of Diane Miller, but even she tells me that the case for having me declared unfit is strong. She's said that she'll do everything she can, though." For a moment, Britt stopped being snarky and rude. She actually let herself look afraid. "I can't lose my son."

"You won't," Brad promised, even though he had no way to keep it.

GH

"Hi." Lucas was waiting outside of Brad's building, grinning and looking pleased with himself. "Long time no see."

"What are you doing here?" Brad stopped dead in tracks, reaching for the keyring in his pocket. "Did you wait around all day for me?"

"No way, I'm not some stalker. When I was visiting my sister at GH, I saw your shift posted and thought I'd surprise you. You disappeared on me this morning." Lucas walked up to Brad, and Brad tightened his grip on his keys. "I missed the chance to wake up in your arms."

"I had an early shift." Brad stepped back, but Lucas either didn't notice or didn't care. "And after last night... After a lot of things, I decided that I can't see you anymore. In any capacity."

Lucas stopped advancing, pain and confusion etched on his face. "What? Why? We work so well together. I thought we had a great time last night. I know I did."

He was up against Brad before the other man could blink. Lucas had his mouth pressed against Brad's, and for a few seconds Brad went with the flow of things. Then his senses returned and he pushed Lucas away.

"No. We are not doing this again. You physically attacked your cousin last night."

"I was defending you!"

"I was guilty of all the charges! Michael has every reason to hate me. And you went nuts on him and he didn't even threaten me. Not really."

Lucas stepped back up to Brad and ran the back of his hand along Brad's jaw. "Who cares about him? It's you I love. I told you that last night, and then you took me home and we made love."

Shaking his head, Brad smacked away Lucas' hand and produced his keys. He didn't know if he would end up using them on the lock to his apartment or the man in front of him.

"Stop it. You don't love me. You can't love me. We haven't known each other that long. We've had one date and a handful of hookups. And we never 'made love'. Are you twelve or something? We fucked. And you're crazy. You and your daddy issues need to get the hell away from me and stay gone."

"Brad!" Lucas screamed as Brad pushed past him. He reached for Brad's coat and got a scratch from the key for the lab. He pulled his not bleeding hand close and kept yelling at Brad's back. "I said I love you! That doesn't just stop! And Michael won't be an issue anymore! I promise!"

Not even bothering to give Lucas a response, Brad entered his building without once looking back.

GH

Kiki Jerome was having a bad year. She'd already been married and divorced, left her ex-husband for his brother, she and her mother were on the outs, and she'd just found out that she had a whole branch of her family she'd never met. And the man she'd ruined her entire life for had pretty much just thrown her out of his home.

It wasn't her fault that Michael Corinthos couldn't look past his hatred of Franco, the former serial killer known as an artist, to see that a brain tumour had made him kill all of those people. After all, she'd heard about Michael's uncle Jason. Jason (allegedly) killed more people than Franco could ever dream. And both of Michael's fathers seemed to have made shooting family members into a competition. It seemed hypocritical to her for Michael to make excuses for the violence in his family, but not the violence in hers.

She didn't think it should matter that Franco technically wasn't related to her.

Even though she didn't yet have a job, she'd managed to secure a small two room apartment, with one of the rooms being a bathroom with a shower. All she had to do was move her stuff out of Michael's place and into her own. Of course, since she'd alienated everyone in her life to be with Michael, it meant she had to move everything herself.

Michael hadn't returned her calls. She was letting him know that she would be stopping by to pick up some clothes. Of course, she had no luggage to haul it in, so she was hoarding several plastic bags she had stolen from a department store when the cashier wasn't looking.

When she stuck her key in the lock, she'd have to give it back sooner or later, Kiki found the apartment unlocked.

“Are you home? Michael?” she called as she opened the door. “I'm just here to get some clothes. I'll have the rest of my stuff out shortly.”

She didn't get an answer. Figuring maybe he'd just forgotten to lock the door, even though it was unlikely, she let herself into the apartment. The overhead light was still on. Kiki called Michael's name. There was still no answer She opened one of the bags and walked into the bedroom to gather her things. Then she screamed.


	4. Chapter 4

“Someone was murdered last night.” Felix either didn't see Brad or was ignoring his existence. He just continued to chat with the other nurses.

“It's Port Charles. Someone is always getting murdered,” someone else commented far too casually. “Was it someone we know?”

“You know Sonny Corinthos? That mob boss guy? It was his son, Michael. I met the guy a few times. He seemed nice enough, albeit wound a little too tightly.” Brad stopped what he was doing and listened to what the nurse was saying. “His girlfriend, Kiki Jerome, she found him hanging from the ceiling of his apartment.”

“That sounds more like a suicide than a murder,” Brad noted as he turned around. All of the nurses glared at him, then turned back to each other and ignored him. They also stopped talking. Picking up the feeling that he wasn't wanted around, Brad threw up his hands and walked away.

“I see the I'm not the only one being frozen out by the bitter bitch club.” Britt walked up to Brad, grinned broadly at the nurses giving them dirty looks, and threw her hair over her shoulder. She chewed on the end of a pen while waiting for Brad to reply.

He looked over to Felix, who looked away, then sighed. “Whatever happened to people being professionals? I swear.”

“Didn't you try to sleep with Felix in one of the exam rooms?” Britt asked around her pen. She sorted through the papers on her clipboard. “Can you rerun the tests on this patient's biopsy sample? The bitch is whining about how she can't have lung cancer because she never smoked.”

“You are such a kind person.”

“Ha ha,” Britt laughed sarcastically. “Just page me when they're done, okay?”

“Yeah, right, I'll have you paged. Whatever.” Brad took the papers from the doctor, looked at Felix who was decidedly not looking at him, and shrugged.

GH

Before he even opened the door, Brad smelled fresh bread still baking in the oven. "Honey, I'm home!"

"Hey, Lover," Lucas greeted back from the kitchenette. "Britt's in the shower. I guess some woman threw up on her on the bus ride home from the hospital."

Leaving his keys in the door, Brad stepped back into the hallway and closed his eyes. He shook his head, picked the wax out of his ears with his fingernails, and then reopened his eyes. Lucas was still there in his apartment.

"I hope you don't mind me cooking. Britt said neither one of you is particularly domestic."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Brad had to keep from screaming, and he really wanted to scream.

"Did you forget already? Britt invited me over for dinner. I wasn't going to over this early, but I was already in the area."

"Did you forget last night when I told you I never wanted to see you again? What the hell are you thinking?" Brad still hadn't walked all the way into the apartment, so he was still speaking just a little louder than was necessary.

"I was thinking that my cousin killed himself last night and that it was my fault. I was thinking that I didn't want to think about my last words to him. Yeah, I guess Michael's girlfriend Kiki found him hanging from the ceiling last night after we had our disagreement. I killed my cousin."

Lucas started crying, putting down the carrot he'd been peeling. Something tugged at Brad's heart. He told himself it didn't matter why Lucas was there. It didn't matter that Michael was dead and that Lucas was probably in shock and not thinking clearly.

"I'm sorry about that." Taking one step into the apartment, Brad watched Lucas. The other man made no attempts to get closer to Brad, so he walked in the rest of the way and closed the door. "Listen, thanks for... for this. You look like you need a friend and I guess I can be one. Just for tonight, okay? But after that, you can't surprise me like this anymore. We aren't dating. You don't get to be here while I'm gone. Not even if Britt is here."

Nodding, Lucas wiped his nose with the back of his hand, then walked over to the sink and rinsed it off. "Thanks, Brad. I just couldn't be around my family today. Carly is a wreck. He was her first born. And my mom keeps talking about how she's not supposed to outlive her grandchildren. I don't know what to tell them.

"There were bruises on his face. I did that. In a stupid fit of rage, I hit him and then he killed himself. Why would he do it? I mean, was it because of me?"

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Brad took another whiff of the baking bread. Lucas had hauled over a bread maker. It was crazy. Everything about Lucas was crazy. "Nobody commits suicide over one isolated incident. They always have innumerable problems. Michael was dealing with his mom being gone, his stepmother being murdered, the Kiki stuff, me... It wasn't because of you. Trust me."

The door to the bathroom opened and Britt wasn't her usual post-bathing self. For one, she was actually clothed. And she was dressed up. Brad wanted to laugh because she was clearly trying to impress Lucas, but the timing was terrible.

"Whoa," Lucas whistled after wiping his eyes. "My eyes are a little blurry from the onions, but you look GOOD."

"Me? Aw, thank you. What are you two queens talking about?" Britt stepped into the room and Brad actually couldn't stifle his laughter. She was wearing high heels. "Did I miss anything interesting?"

"You missed your uni-brow while you were plucking your moustache." Brad looked over at Lucas and saw him chuckle. At least he could still appreciate humour. Maybe, just maybe, letting him stay and make dinner wouldn't be such a bad idea.

GH

“He's nice. I remember when I had nice. I miss it.” Britt sighed after they'd eaten and Lucas had excused himself to make a phone call in the hall. “I was almost a princess, you know.”

“No, I think you have to be born into royalty to be a prince or princess. You would've been, like, a duchess or something,” Brad argued as he patted his stomach. The bread was still warm and smelled good. He wanted to eat more, even if it was just empty calories. They'd polished off the salad Lucas made from scratch with a cheap red wine Brad had sitting in his fridge.

“Fuck you. And the man out there managed to pull off serving lettuce and bread as a meal. Marry him. I'm not even kidding. I'll buy you two rings.” Britt chuckled and checked under her nails for dirt. “I'm kidding, by the way. Make sure he can actually cook and has an actual job before you pop the question. And make sure that's not a wig or hair plugs on his head. Trust me. You can't trust a man with hair plugs.”

“Oh, trust me, there is no way in hell I'm marrying Lucas Spencer.” Brad cringed as he spoke. “There is a whole story there. I'm just... he's had a rough day and I'm trying to be nice.”

“Brad, this is the first man to show interest in you that didn't spent all of his spare time dusting off some Puerto Rican woman's pussy. You will date him, you will have fun, and you will go to his hotel room and have lots of sex because I am not washing your sheets.”

“You don't even wash the dishes. And you make me sleep on the couch. In my own apartment.”

“You can't have sex on the couch, either. I eat food there. And we need to clean this place up because the court is letting me have a supervised visit with Ben tomorrow. I'm officially on the lease now, right? You told me you'd do that.”

“Yes, Britt, since you can't get anyone else in town to give you a place to live, I got you on my lease. But if you get the baby you need to pay to break it. There isn't enough room here.”

“Brad, it's a six month lease. These fucking courts take longer to settle issues that don't involve stolen embryos. I'll have found something better by the time I get Ben back.”

Before Brad could point out just how unlikely it was that Britt would actually be able to get her son back, Lucas strolled back into the apartment beaming.

“I got a job!”

“I thought you had a job. Back in Seattle.” Brad faked a smile and ignored Britt's bitchy face.

Grinning from ear to ear, Lucas made his way to Brad, then grabbed his hand and lifted him to his feed. “Carly and my mom were bugging me to stay, so I threw out a few applications to shut them up. But I actually got one!”

“Oh? Where? Are you gonna work with us at GH? It seems like everyone who isn't involved in organized crime or the police force does.” Britt threw both thumbs in the air for Lucas.

“Actually, no. There's a GP in town that liked my application and gave me an interview the other day. I start working at his practice on Monday!” Then Lucas gave Brad a celebratory kiss. Against his better judgement, Brad melted into it. He heard Britt congratulate Lucas from the sidelines, but all he could pay attention to was the other man's tongue.

When they broke apart, Lucas was still beaming.

“Brad, I fucking love you. You can come out to my mom's place this Friday. Bring Britt with you. We'll have a celebratory dinner. We need some good news in that house.”

Without giving Brad a chance to reply, Lucas kissed him again, caressed his cheek, then gathered his things and left. All Brad could do was stare at the closed door.

“I'm telling you, that man is a keeper. Seriously, Brad, KEEP HIM!”


	5. Chapter 5

"You don't have to return it. He said to bring me, not me and appliances."

Rolling his eyes, Brad shuffled the bread maker under one arm and knocked on the door with the other. They waited a few moments for an answer. When one didn't happen, Britt starting pounding on the door with a clenched fist. It opened mid-swing and Britt almost took out the homeowner.

"Yes, sorry, can I help you?" Brad recognized Bobbie Spencer. He hadn't worked at the hospital when she did, but her picture was still up all over the place. Not that she much resembled her younger self.

"My name is Britt Westbourne, and this is Brad Cooper. Your son, I think he's your son, but Lucas Jones invited us over for dinner." Britt shoved a box of white wine into Bobbie's arms. "I would've gotten something a little more appropriate, but lawyers are expensive and payday isn't until Friday."

"This is... It'll do. If nothing else, I can always send it over to Monica Quartermaine." Bobbie stepped back from the door and called for Lucas. "I'll just go put this in the fridge."

"I told you not to buy boxed wine!" Brad wanted to kick Britt, but the bread maker was getting heavier and heavier. "Now they're going to think I'm as tacky as you."

"Shut up. You're lucky I came to be your buffer. Or did you really want to meet the boyfriend's family all alone?" Britt stepped into the entrance, then shut the door when Brad joined her inside.

"Not my boyfriend," Brad corrected. He remembered telling Lucas that they could try being friends, but he also remembered Lucas kissing him the last time they were together. "We're just friends, and you and I are only here to help take his mind off of Michael."

"It's still weird how he offed himself."

"Shut up!" Brad hissed angrily as he sat the bread maker on the floor. "This is Michael's family, and I do not need them hating me as much as everyone in this town hates you."

"But they all know you were involved in my pregnancy..."

"Howdy!" Lucas interrupted cheerfully. Britt stomped her foot and muttered something about not being able to finish sentences, which seemed to confuse their host. "It's gonna be us, my mom, and my sister Carly and her son Morgan. I hope that's okay."

"That's, uh, it's fine. Right, Britt?"

"It's just lovely. Your home is lovely." Britt looked around the house and faked a smile.

"It's my mom's place. Now that I've got long term employment, I need to find my own digs. Unless you want me to just move in with you." Lucas wiggled his eyebrows at Brad, then laughed. "Just kidding! I know that place is too small for three people. But if you ever move out, Britt, make this guy call me."

"Uh, right. I'll do just that." Britt gave Brad a stank face when Lucas wasn't looking. She was starting to pick up on just how odd the guy was.

"My mom insisted on cooking. It takes her mind of off Michael, so we'll be in the living room with Carly and Morgan until she says dinner is ready." Lucas grabbed Brad by the hand and started to lead them away. "You can just leave that there. I'll get it later."

Abandoning the bread maker, the trio left the foyer and walked down a hall to a room where a blonde woman was sitting on the sofa looking miserable, her brunet son holding her hand.

"Sorry to hear about your son," Britt offered to Carly. Brad echoed her sentiments.

"I met Michael a few times. He was a handsome young man."

Britt raised her eyebrows at Brad's choice of words, but Lucas stepped between them and took the reins of the conversation.

"Carly, Morgan, this is my boyfriend Brad and his friend Britt. They work at GH. Maybe you've seen them there?"

"I know who she is, Lucas. I was at the Nurses' Ball last year." Carly eyed Britt heavily, but didn't elaborate. "And Lulu Falconeri is my cousin."

"Oh." Brad coughed and scratched the back of his neck. Of course Lulu and Michael were cousins. He'd seen both of their medical charts. He just hadn't put it together.

"Right, well, now that the mood has been established, I'll just sit over here in the corner and pretend I'm somewhere else until the food is ready." Britt walked over to the chair furthest from everyone and pulled out her phone.

Rolling his eyes, Lucas clapped a hand on Brad's chest and leaned forward so that he was eye level with his sister and nephew. "Listen, can we have one pleasant evening? Please? Save the fighting for when we don't have company?"

"I haven't said anything!" Morgan pointed out hastily.

Carly made an unpleasant face, then groaned an agreement.

GH

"You called me your boyfriend." Brad stood in the doorway to Bobbie Spencer's home. Waiting down on the sidewalk was Britt. She was eager to get home and away from Carly's death glare, but Brad was even more so. Carly wasn't even the worst part of the evening.

"I know. The dinner went well, I thought." Lucas brushed off Brad's shoulders and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You didn't like it?"

"It was great. I love frozen pizza. It's just... We aren't dating. I can't be your boyfriend."

Lucas stepped back from Brad, shock overriding his face. "What are you talking about? Brad, when I was at your place the other night, you kissed me. You said you loved me."

"No, I didn't. That was you. I said I'd try to be friends. You kissed me. You said you loved me, which is crazy because we don't know each other. Not really. This is me reminding you that we are friends and nothing more."

"Is this about Felix?" Lucas grabbed at his chest and gasped for breath. "Brad, he's treated you like crap. You deserve better. You deserve someone who will worship you."

Brad stepped away from both the doorway and Lucas. He backed two steps down so that he had to look up to see the other man. Something was not right. It was so far from right that he'd dismissed his initial instincts because he couldn't see how wrong it was.

"Nobody wants to be worshipped. Well, maybe Robin Scorpio, but that's it. You need to calm down."

Ignoring Brad's words, Lucas stumbled over the threshold and tackled Brad in a hug. Losing his footing, Brad fell to the ground, the back of his head slamming into the concrete. Lucas landed on top of him and drove the wind from Brad's lungs. Britt ran over to them, but Lucas pushed her away.

"I'm sorry, Babe. It was an accident. Don't leave me. Please don't go." Lucas sat on Brad's hips and held his face in his hands. It was impossible for Brad to see through the confusion and pain. He couldn't move. "I love you. Just come inside and I'll make it better. I'll bandage your head up and make Carly apologize for being rude. There's no need to go."

"He's not going anywhere with your crazy ass." Britt kicked Lucas in the cheek, knocking him off of Brad. She helped her friend to his feet, then put herself between the two men. "You are fucking crazy, and trust me when I say I know crazy. Stay away from me and Brad. And you better never come anywhere near my son or I'll kill you."

"Why would he..." Brad started before realizing that speaking was the last thing he wanted to do. He stumbled and Britt had to catch him. Lucas scrambled to his feet, but Britt screamed at him to back off. Then Morgan appeared at Lucas' side and grabbed his cousin's arm.

"You should probably leave now," Morgan advised as he held Lucas back. He looked sort of freaked out.

"Brad! Felix doesn't love you! I do." Lucas shouted at the top of his lungs. Carly and Bobbie joined in, helping Morgan restrain him.

Snarling, Britt helped steady Brad. "Trust me, we are leaving and hell will freeze over before we ever come back here."

GH

"You know, I'm supposed to be the evil, crazy bitch in town, but that Lucas Jones is outdoing even me." Britt sat in the exam room with Brad, waiting on a nurse to look him over. She had offered to do it herself, but he reminded her that her speciality was in vaginae and that he didn't have one.

"Yeah, well, he seemed sorta normal at first. Especially by Port Charles standards. I mean, have you met any of the other people who live here? There are mobsters and escaped mental patients and terrorists..."

"I've been threatened by more than a few." Britt pulled the cloth from Brad's head and looked the wound over. "It's not bleeding anymore, which is good. External clotting is almost always good. You know what isn't good? Emergency room response time. We've been waiting thirty minutes. I'm going to talk to Mother about how lazy the nurses down here are."

"We aren't lazy. We just saw the names on the chart and prioritized." Elizabeth Webber strolled into the exam room, looking smug. "So, what happened?"

"A crazy man attacked him. Didn't you read the file?" Britt snapped.

"So, you want to file a police report? I can call Dante Falconeri down here just like that." Liz snapped her fingers and leered.

Speaking up, Brad declined. "It's not serious. I don't think he meant to hurt me. It just happened."

"Brad, he is insane."

"I think Lucas got the point. We should just let it go."

"Lucas did this to you? Lucas Jones? I'm gonna bake him some cookies." Liz rolled Britt's chair away from Brad and looked at the wound. "It's not deep. I'll clean it up and then get you a CT scan, if you want one."

"Damn straight he wants one. And I'm gonna watch those tech monkeys do it so I know it's being done right." Britt crossed her arms over her chest and glared. Brad was thankful the hate was aimed at Liz and not him, but the pale nurse seemed to revel in it.

"That should be fine. Thanks." Brad winced as Liz began disinfecting the wound. "Could I get some pain meds or something? It may not be deep, but it hurts."

Laughing, Liz shook her head. "Sorry, no. We want you lucid in case there are follow up questions during your scan."

"Bitch, I've given patients meds before a scan." Britt bared her teeth and Brad could sense that violence was about to break out.

"Yeah, but the pharmacy didn't hate your patients. So, I'll set that scan up for you." Liz pressed a bandage to the wound, pushing down harder than necessary and smiling when Brad's eyes started to water.

"I'm complaining to my mother about you, too!" Britt threatened as Liz took off her gloves and threw them into the nearby trashcan.

"You do that. Meanwhile, I need to talk to Lucas Jones about his taste in men." Liz smirked at Britt, then Brad, then left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm calling the cops." Brad put about ten feet of distance between himself and Lucas. He had his phone in hand, hoping that he wouldn't actually have to use it. His heart was thudding so loudly in his ears that he almost couldn't hear his own words.

Holding his hands up, Lucas gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I was off the other day. Way off. This whole Michael thing hit me harder than I thought it would."

"It hit YOU hard?" Brad pointed at the bandage wrapped around his head. "I had to get a fucking CT scan. You are so lucky I didn't had any permanent damage. Now seriously, leave."

"But I brought you a gift." Lucas picked up a package by his feet. Brad hadn't noticed it, what with his apparent stalker waiting outside of his apartment. "It's a bread maker. You really liked mine, so I thought you'd want one of your own."

"If I want bread, I can buy it at the grocery store. Get the fuck out of my apartment building and my life."

Angry, Lucas threw the box against the wall. Brad winced, wondering if his landlord would make him pay for any possible damage. It wasn't fair. He'd been a terrible person, but not this bad. There was no way his karma was shitty enough for him to deserve this. Britt, sure, but not Brad Cooper.

"That's it." Brad started to dial 911, but Lucas leapt and smacked the phone from his hand before he could finish. It clattered to the floor and Lucas stomped on the screen.

"We are not done until I say we are. I've been nice about it, but you aren't cooperating. We are soul mates, Brad Cooper. We will get married and adopt kids from a third world country and you will forget about that asshole Felix Dubois." Lucas grabbed Brad's shirt when he tried to step away and slammed into him into the wall. "Why won't you just let me love you? We could be perfect together. I just know it."

"You aren't crazy. You're psychotic." Brad started to push Lucas away, but Lucas slammed his head into the wall and a wave of pain and nausea hit him.

"If I'm crazy, you did it to me. I won't let you pretend we never happened. I will not be ignored!" Lucas screamed before slamming Brad's head into the wall again. On the verge of blacking out, Brad couldn't stop the tears leaking from his eyes. It seemed to calm Lucas down, because he pulled Brad into a tight embrace. "See what you made me do? You need to stop fighting it, Brad. We were made for each other. Someday, I'll make you see that. We're perfect together and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Then, without warning, Lucas slammed Brad's head into the wall again and all he knew was darkness.

GH

When he woke up, Brad felt heavy. His head throbbed, and when he moved his legs he heard something rattle. Feeling around in the darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust, Brad found cold steel around his leg: a manacle. It was attached to a chain, which was attached to a brick wall.

It was ten minutes before someone walked into the room, if it could even be called a room.

"I see you're awake. Sorry about the squalid conditions, but it was such short notice that I just jumped on the first place. I hope that's okay." Lucas reached out and gingerly ruffled Brad's hair. “I know it isn't the ideal place for us to start our life together, but I'll fix it up in no time. You'll love it."

Shrinking away from Lucas, Brad tried to think of something to say or do. He could beg to be set free, but it wouldn't do any good. Lucas was clearly beyond reasoning. There was nothing under the calm veneer but psychosis and violence.

"Did you kill Michael?" The words trickled through his mouth, but he couldn't really hear them. All Brad knew was the ache in the back of his head and the fear in his heart. "Please don't kill me."

"I would never hurt you if it wasn't necessary. You have to know that." Lucas kissed Brad's neck and rubbed his shoulders. It took everything Brad had not to vomit. "But Michael, he just didn't understand. He would have never let us live in peace. I had to deal with him. For us. You understand, don't you?"

“Who else have you dealt with?”

Pulling away from Brad, Lucas started grinning. Even in the darkness, his teeth were unmistakable. Brad held his breath.

“I love you, Brad. Just remember that everything I do, I do for you.”

Lucas stood and blew a kiss to Brad. Rolling onto his side, Brad stared at the concrete wall and did his best to pretend that the maniac would be stopped.

GH

Brad was the one who was supposed to supervise Britt's visit with Ben. He had agreed to it, signed the paperwork, and then never showed. CPS told her they'd have to reschedule. Maybe set something up at the offices.

As mad as she was, Britt was also worried. Brad was a jerk and a bit of a dumb ass, but he wouldn't let her down like this. He knew how much seeing her son meant. The feeling of dread only intensified when she called the lab at GH and was told that he had not shown up for work. He hadn't even called in sick. And nobody cared. She called the cops and wanted to report him as a missing person, but Dante had been the officer to take the call. He laughed at her and told her to call back after 48 hours.

Against her better judgement, Britt called Lucas next. Well, she called his mother's house and asked to talk to him, but the old bitch said that her golden boy was out with his sister shopping for an apartment. Someplace more permanent where he could settle down. Bobbie Spencer then made it known that neither Britt nor Brad was welcome in her home and to never call again.

"Why should I help you? I don't really know you, but what I've heard is unpleasant." Ava Jerome swirled the olive around her martini, then smiled while biting it off the toothpick. "I'm an art dealer, Ms. Westbourne."

"Dr. Westbourne," Britt corrected. Amusement played behind Ava's eyes. "And we both know you aren't just an art dealer. I'll pay you. I make good money, and it's clean."

"Clean money is the best kind. What exactly do you need?"

"I need help finding someone. Brad Cooper. He was... He was dating your nephew, and either last night or this morning he disappeared right after a bad breakup." Britt chewed on her thumbnail and Ava wrinkled her nose. "You lot, you're good at making people disappear. Really good. How are you are bringing them back?"

"Usually, when I make someone disappear, they don't come back. So, unfortunately for you, I'm afraid I won't be of any help. Have a good day, Dr. Westbourne."

Ava finished her drink and set the glass on the table. She gave Britt an ice cold smile and walked away.

GH

"You just would not believe the price of real estate in Port Charles! It's a lot cheaper than Seattle. I think the high crime rate might play a factor. My ex-brother-in-law and my father are finally good for something. Who knew?" Lucas ran his hand along the inside of Brad's thigh.

Even if he weren't gagged, Brad's throat was too raw to reply. While Lucas had been gone, he'd spent the day screaming for help. He screamed until he coughed up blood. Then he cried. Somehow, Lucas must have heard him, because when he returned several hours later, he fed Brad and let him drink a bottle of water before binding his legs and wrists and gagging his mouth.

"It's just a bit longer, Baby. I promise." Lucas leaned in and kissed the fresh bruises on Brad's body. He'd picked them up trying to fight back; Lucas was stronger than he looked. A lot stronger. It was probably why Brad was bound and gagged where before he'd just been chained up.

Neither one acknowledged the bucket in the corner, nor the stench coming from it.

"We got a lead on a new place. It's an old music studio that's been converted. They kept the sound-proofing in so we can make love as loud as we want and nobody will ever hear us." Brad could feel Lucas grinning, his lips pressed against the side of his face before he moved on and started chewing on his earlobe. "It's a gorgeous old place. You're gonna love it. What do you think?"

All Brad could think was that Lucas was crazier than he'd given him credit for. Yeah, Brad had tried to blackmail Michael into sex, but this was something a hell of a lot worse. This was worse than stealing an embryo and implanting it into Britt. It wasn't as bad as Monica Quartermaine's face, but that wasn't Brad's fault.

"You look so beautiful right now." Lucas' breath was hot against Brad's ear. But inside, all he felt was cold.

GH

Carrying the baby of a married man bothered Sabrina Santiago. It bothered her far more than it should have. Patrick had been two words away from marrying her when his wife showed up. And it wasn't even that Sabrina was mad, because under those circumstances how could she be? It didn't make her hurt go away, though. It didn't make her feel like any less of a whore. That Catholic guilt was strong.

After a long and trying day, which included being berated by the Chief of Staff for having morning sickness on the job, all Sabrina wanted to do was sleep. At least when her eyes were shut, and she was in her own bed, she could be left alone.

As much as she loved Felix, he was her best friend and roommate for a reason, Sabrina hoped he wasn't home. She pulled her keys out of the pocket of her coat and mentally chastised herself. Felix had done so much for her. He'd given up any chance with Brad to help her with her problems. Not that Brad was exactly worth Felix's time anyway. She was glad that Felix finally saw how awful he was.

When she went to unlock her door and saw that it was already done, Sabrina bit back a curse. Felix was home. He'd want to talk about what happened at the hospital. Sure, he'd had the day off, but the boy was always in tune with what happened to everyone at GH. He would know how the toxic combination of Obrecht and hormones had made her cry, then laughed at her tears and called her weak.

When she opened her door, though, Sabrina saw Felix on the sofa. His head was on his chest and he was quiet. Maybe she had gotten lucky and he fell asleep while waiting for her. She stayed with this idea until she tried to sneak past him. Then she vomited.


	7. Chapter 7

I saw this in the store and just had to buy it. I know we don't have a baby, not yet, but we can totally get one. We'll adopt one of those Chinese girl babies so she can look like you.” Lucas held up a little dress with some pony on it, his face all smile.

“You know, you're really, really crazy. And kinda racist. I don't know why the racism offends me more.” Brad tugged at the manacle around his ankle. He knew it wouldn't loosen, but every so often he had to remind himself that it was there. He was growing used to it and that scared him. “Also, you may have been able to move me into your new apartment, though how nobody saw you dragging my unconscious body is a mystery, but someone is eventually gonna find me.”

“It's Port Charles. If you pay somebody to look the other way, then they look the other way.” Lucas tossed the dress to Brad and rolled from a sitting position to his side. He laid his head on the floor and looked up at his captive's face. “And I'll have you know that I'm not racist and that nobody is looking for you. You're going to be my secret treasure until you fall back in love with me. You know it's inevitable. I have a killer smile, after all.”

“I was never in love with you,” Brad challenged as he crossed his arms. He may have been chained up, but at least his captor brought him a change of clothes that included pants that snapped on the side of the legs. Lucas also let him sponge bathe by himself, which was only slightly creepy. Brad was trapped in the recording booth portion of the renovated studio, and he just knew Lucas was watching through the two way mirror.

“Sure you were. Remember that date we had at The Floating Rib? You totally said you loved me.”

“The one where you assaulted your cousin before killing him?” Brad raised his eyebrows and squeezed his thumbs in his fists. “I remember it well. And I remember you saying that YOU loved ME. I said nothing of the sort.”

Lucas got a dreamy look on his face and closed his eyes. “Yes, I was memorable when I defended your honour. I'll never let anyone speak ill of you like that ever again. Not Michael. Not Felix. Nobody.”

Brad was too acclimated to the insanity to be horrified. Lucas had killed Felix. He told Brad that he wasn't done there, but he hadn't named any other victims. If he was just on hiatus...

“I know you won't, because you're batshit insane, but please stop. You don't have to hurt anyone else. Like you said, you have me and nobody is looking. I have no friends and I alienated my family years ago. You won.” Brad swallowed the rest of the words that tried to spill out of his mouth. Lucas didn't seem to be bothered by Brad calling him insane, and he'd kindly taken to drugging him instead of beating him when he needed to move him, but he was crazy. Crazy only seemed predictable.

I won't win until you tell me that you love me.” Lucas reached over and caressed Brad's leg. It took everything Brad had to not jerk away or kick him. It was getting easier to just let Lucas think he was stealing affection. All fighting back did was result in bruising. “Oh! I forgot that I had something to show you!”

“Something besides clothes for a baby that doesn't exist?” Brad picked up the dress and threw it against the nearest wall.

Lucas sat up and smiled, then ran out of the booth. Brad curled up in the dog bed Lucas had been thoughtful enough to give him, and reached for the nearby blanket. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep Lucas would leave him alone. Brad had faked sleep before and Lucas had just sad and watched for hours. He seemed more occupied with gaining Brad's favour than anything else, so he hadn't bothered with trying to molest or rape him. It was a small mercy.

“They had this on sale at the store and I thought it was so funny!” Lucas walked back into the room wearing a bright grin. He was also wearing a long blonde wig. “It's styled just like my sister's hair. You remember Carly, don't you?”

“We've met. And you never struck me as the drag type.” Brad pulled the blanket tighter around himself, forgetting that he was supposed to be pretending to be asleep.

“Oh, I'm not. It's just for a laugh. You never laugh anymore.”

“You're holding me prisoner in your apartment. Which has soundproofing. Even if I laughed, nobody would hear it.”

“But you're a prisoner of love. It's so romantic, isn't it?” Lucas took the wig off and threw it out of the room. “Listen, I just want you to be happy. The last thing I want is for my lover to be upset. Do you want a TV? A radio? I can't trust you with a computer, but I could get you some books or a notepad.”

Sighing, Brad shrugged. “Yeah, sure, I'll take a couple books. Just nothing with vampires or dystopian societies from the Young Adult section. I may be gay, but I'm not that gay. Or pathetic.”

Brad almost made a joke about how Lucas holding him in chains was a better love story than Twilight. Almost. He didn't want to give the man false hope. Not that Lucas was short on that. Crazy people excelled at self-delusion. And Lucas defined crazy.

“I'm on it! Behave while I'm gone.” Lucas kissed Brad's cheek, ruffled his hair, and bounded out of the room again.

GH

Britt really wanted to punch someone in the face. She hadn't seen her son in weeks. In fact, her roommate had been missing for well over a week himself and nobody seemed to care. Even the Port Charles police department seemed less than concerned. It was a mockery of the justice system she had perverted on multiple occasions.

“Don't test me,” she warned a nervous looking medical student. The young woman squeaked and fled to the nurses' station. Ignoring the angry nurses and the trembling woman hiding amongst them, Britt walked to the hospital elevator. When it opened, Elizabeth Webber was looking smug and Nikolas Cassadine was at her side. He avoided looking at Britt, and she snarled but didn't say a word.

They passed by and Britt stepped into the empty elevator. It was time for her to go home. It was time for her to crawl into bed and pull the cover over her head and pretend that nobody else existed. But instead of doing that, she was going to look for Brad again. She knew that Lucas Jones, the crazy bastard that he was, he was responsible for Brad's disappearance. But everyone ignored her when she proposed the idea to the police.

“No evidence: not even circumstantial,” Anna Devane had said to Britt's face. Lucas was a model resident. No serious criminal background, even if his biological father was a mobster... It meant that Britt's own shitty reputation was nothing next to Lucas and his claims of innocence.

Carly Corinthos Jax had actually paid a visit to Britt. She'd tried to threaten the doctor into backing off, told Britt that she had friends in high places. Britt laughed and reminded Carly that her own mother had outsmarted the entire WSB and that some low rent thugs might as well be nothing by comparison. Even if Britt didn't like her mother, nothing would stop Liesl Obrecht from protecting her daughter: not even Sonny Corinthos and Julian Jerome.

But it didn't matter; Britt had a lead. It wasn't much of one: Lucas had gotten a new apartment in the Asian Quarter, living amongst the hipsters that Britt regularly wanted to throw hot coffee at. All she needed to do was wait for him to leave, break into the place, and see if there was anything tying him to Brad's disappearance. And she needed to do it by herself without being caught. And while Britt Westbourne was many, many things, she was not infallible. She just had nobody to ask for help. Brad really was her only friend and she assumed that was why she was willing to commit a felony to help him.

And she was also suspicious of the trend of suicides. Michael Corinthos killing himself wasn't a huge shock. The kid looked like he was in pain every damn day of his life. Or at least constipation. But Felix? Felix had been a surprise. He hadn't even given a hint of depression. The cops didn't want to investigate. Not really. Anna Devane had a million other cases to investigate and a suicide was a suicide. Britt had sneaked a peak at the toxicology report from the GH lab. She still had Brad's access. Sleeping pills were all that were in his system. A lot of them, if the levels were accurate. And he'd slashed his wrists, too, just to be sure he got the job done.

Except Felix wasn't suicidal.

Sabrina Santiago might have been content to wallow in misery about her friend's untimely demise. All Sabrina did was whine and wallow. But Britt wasn't like that. She took action.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked when Britt waved him down.

She gave the name of the street Lucas lived on. Carly, in her infinite wisdom, had actually told Britt which building Lucas moved into when she was screeching her head off. Now all Britt had to do was figure out how to fake her way into the apartment.

GH

Lucas was running out of ideas. Michael had been easy. Nobody questioned his death. Everyone knew that Lucas' perpetually whiny and depressed cousin would go out horribly. Felix had been harder. Nobody saw it coming, but nobody wondered if it had been a case of foul play. Unlike Michael, whose death had been spontaneous, Felix had required planning. Lucas had run into Felix in the street, faked a date, and then drugged Felix's drink. And while the nurse was snoozing, it was far too easy to finish him.

But he wasn't a contract killer. He wasn't well versed in the art of murder: Lucas was just a man in love, removing the obstacles standing between him and a happy life with Brad. And his work was almost done. Only one person remained. Just one more and he could stop.

He watched Britt Westbourne get into the cab. She usually took the bus. Nikolas Cassadine had spoiled her with private drivers and a fleet of expensive cars and she suddenly no longer had one. But why would she need to take a cab unless she was going somewhere out of her way? It was interesting, but Lucas had other things to do to prepare for Britt. The first involved going to his father. They could make it look like a mob hit. Set up Sonny Corinthos, make it look like a revenge killing to remove Britt from Ben's life. Something.

All he had to do was wait. Julian might be resistant at first. He had to keep a low profile, after all, but he also wanted Lucas at his side; he wanted Lucas as his son. If it took using that connection to get Brad to love him again, it was worth it.

Deciding he'd loitered outside of the hospital long enough, Lucas hailed a taxi of his own. He needed to meet with Julian, and there was that adorable little place near Brad's apartment. Julian really seemed to like the coffee and doughnuts, and Lucas missed being in Brad's neighbourhood. There was something quaint about the place, even if there were shootouts in the alleyways every other night.

“Hey, Dad? Are we still up for breakfast? I just wanted to call and make sure before I headed over there. Because I have a favour to ask, and it's kind of serious.”


	8. Chapter 8

Britt hadn't picked a lock since high school, when she used to break into lockers and steal cigarettes from the goth kids. She would never smoke them. Her mother put the fear of cancer into her every summer in Zurich, but when she was sent back to America to resume her private school education she took a small amount of joy in just carrying a pack around. It was how she signified rebellion. She'd usually give them to some homeless person or a housewife: someone who would get lung cancer and die and it wouldn't matter.

Still, Britt remembered the basics of it and soon enough Lucas Jones' apartment door popped open. There wasn't even an alarm. Either he hadn't had time have one installed, or Lucas didn't think he'd need one. Either way, Britt let out a sigh of relief and closed and locked the door behind her. She'd seen enough movies to know that a crazy person would pick up on anything, even something as small as an unlocked door.

“Okay, if I were incriminating evidence involving a crazy white boy making a short Asian man disappear, where would I be?” Britt checked in the cushions of the sofa, under the chairs, and lightly ruffled through the drawers in a nearby cabinet. She wasn't an amateur, her hair in a ponytail stuffed into the back of her shirt and gloves on her hands, but she still moved with speed in mind more than accuracy.

Tentative, Britt checked the bedroom next. She really didn't know what to expect, but found herself actually disappointed by the lack of a sex swing. If you're going to be crazy, you could at least be kinky.

“This is too clean.” Britt moved on to the bathroom, and still found nothing. When she checked Lucas' closet, all she found was a wig on the floor. And while the wig was cheap and had a tacky lace front, it was the first sign of something being off. Britt picked the wig up, and found it stuck under the wall. Curious as to how that was possible, she felt along the wall and found a door handle.

Pushing the door open, Britt saw what looked to be a control room for either a recording studio or... she didn't know what else it could be. Crouching below Lucas' clothes Britt dropped the wig and walked through the hidden door, making sure to close it behind her. There was a tinted window, likely a two way mirror, overlooking an all-white room. Britt checked to make sure Lucas wasn't in the room, then stepped up to the window.

“Dammit.” Britt was simultaneously happy and angry that she had been correct. She immediately pulled out her cellphone.

“Port Charles Police Department.”

“I need to speak with Detective Dante Falconeri,” Britt told the secretary or receptionist or whatever the hell those desk jockeys called themselves. “He has his cellphone turned off.”

“Detective Falconeri isn't available, but his partner Detective West is.”

Rolling her eyes, Britt growled her approval into the phone.

“Detective Nathan West,” a low, deep voice answered. Britt could barely hear him.

“My name is Dr. Britt Westbourne and I'm at the apartment of Lucas Jones. He's been keeping a man unlawfully locked up in a room hidden behind a door in his closet.”

The detective cleared his throat. “I'm sorry, can you repeat that?”

“There is a man who has been abducted and held prisoner by his insane ex-boyfriend. Do you want the address or not?”

“Can you tell me how you learned this?”

Stomping her foot, Britt fought the urge to scream. What was the point of filling out paperwork before an arrest was made?

“I broke into his apartment. I'm calling from there right now. SO you can say that you had reasonable cause to stop a current crime and nothing you find will should be ruled inadmissible in court. I don't know. I'm a doctor, not a lawyer. Just get your likely corrupt ass down here.”

She barked the address at him, then ended the call. After putting her phone away, Britt threw open the next door and walked into the white room. It had probably been a recording studio once upon a time. Now all she saw was that it had been a prison for her best and only friend.

“Brad!” she cried as she knelt next to the sleeping man. He didn't wake right away, so she shook him roughly.

Pushing her away, Brad backed up against the nearest wall before opening his eyes. “Britt? What are you doing here? Did he get you, too?”

“No, dumbass. I'm here to rescue you. Unless you like being a crazy white boy's slut puppy. Complete with an actual dog bed.” Britt kicked the cushion to Brad and knelt down so that they were at eye level. “I already called the cops. I don't have a key, so I can't unlock your... Is that an actual manacle? What the hell? Are we in the Spanish Inquisition?”

“No, Doctor Westbourne, you're in my home.”

Brad reacted first. “Lucas. Don't. Please, don't hurt her.”

Brandishing a knife, Lucas had a dangerous look in his eyes. He laughed long and loud before looking past Britt and to his prisoner. “Brad, darling, she's the only thing left that's keeping us apart. She's our last remaining obstacle! You just need to let her go. Let me help you.”

"Listen here, you crazy son of a bitch. You may think that just because you can lock people up in Candyland or wherever the fuck it is you live in your head, you can do it it here, but you can't. Not even a little bit. In fact, the only one who should be locked up is you." Britt spat as she held Brad behind her. She knew she should be scared of Lucas. Her anger wouldn't let that happen.

Lucas laughed. He waved his knife around dangerously, then narrowed his eyes and pointed it at Britt's heart. "It wasn't supposed to happen yet. Not this early. In fact, I just got home from a meeting with my dad to deal with you. But if he can't help me take you out, he can at least help me clean you up."

"Is this for real? Why can't you ever date anyone normal?" Britt didn't look at Brad when she asked; she kept her eyes locked onto Lucas and the knife.

"Well, from what I hear, this is normal for Port Charles," Brad answered weakly.

"Stand back, my love! I don't want to hurt you, Brad." Lucas lunged at Britt, and she barely managed to throw herself and Brad out the way of the blade. It sang through the air where, just a fraction of a second before, she had been standing.

Before she could regain her bearings, Britt was doubled over her attacker's fist. Lucas started to slash at her again, but Brad threw what looked like the dog bed at them. It staggered Lucas' aim just enough that he grazed Britt's back. Even though it hurt like hell, she pushed Lucas away and stood back to her full height.

Her back felt like it was on fire: her top warm and sticky where the blood was leaking. She backed away from Lucas while he recovered. Britt prided herself on many things. She was glad she had called the cops. They just needed to hold Lucas off long enough for one of Anna Devane's twits to shoot the bitch in his massive forehead.

“Fuck this,” she yelled before kicking Lucas between the legs while he plunged the knife into her shoulder. Both collapsed.

Even though she wanted to rip it out, and everything in her was screaming to do so, Britt left the knife in. If she pulled it out she would be fucked. She was already bleeding too much as it was.

Then she heard the sound of choking. It hurt like hell, but she looked up. Her hair partially obscured her vision, but Britt saw Lucas fighting to breathe. Brushing the hair away with her non-injured hand, Britt winced then saw why. Brad was choking Lucas with the chain attached to his leg. He'd probably wrapped it around the man when he went down from Britt's kick. She was simultaneously proud and worried. If Lucas managed to escape, there was no telling what would happen to Brad.

Then Brad put his non-chained foot on the back of Lucas' head and pushed. The white man's eyes bulged painfully, then the sound of his neck snapping sang through the air. Brad pushed for a few more seconds before relaxing. Then he started to cry.

GH

Britt sat in the back of the ambulance, ignoring the EMT's demand that she lay down in the bed so they could leave. She needed to go to the ER immediately and she knew it, but she didn't care. She didn't want to leave without Brad.

“Shut the fuck up. I'm keeping pressure applied,” she barked at the paramedic. “Just hold on for two damn minutes. This is why I hate working in the ER. You EMTs are annoying as hell.”

When she finally saw Brad, she wished she were able to facepalm.

“Here is the other one,” Nathan West told the paramedics as he brought Brad to the ambulance. He had had the short lab tech in his arms, and Brad had his arms wrapped around Nathan's neck and his head on the man's chest.

“Bitch, I know you can walk,” Britt laughed when Nathan tried to set the man on his feet.

“I'm malnourished and weak. Nothing wrong with needing a big, strong man to help me out. Nothing wrong at all. Right, Detective West?”

“Erm...” Nathan didn't answer, just kind of blushed and coughed.

“The least I can do is take my hero out to dinner as thanks. Are you available tomorrow night?” Brad clung onto Nathan's bicep as the EMT tried to drag him away. Britt stifled a snort.

“We'll talk about it after you finish filing paperwork, then?” Brad yelled as Nathan walked to his patrol car.

“Only you would try to hook up with the officer in charge of your kidnapping case.” Britt said as the paramedic closed the doors to the ambulance.

“Hey, he didn't say no!” Brad retorted with a laugh.


End file.
